COVID-19 has made a devastating impact on all the aspects of our lives, but it is also prompting an outpouring of creativity in the events industry.

The way we communicate and interact with colleagues, professionals and members of the public in trade shows is, in fact, playing a more and more relevant role. It’s key to streamline the way we present ourselves to others, making sure that without even interacting with them, they are already aware of where we are standing.

This is why the launch of the new social bands in the industry has been received with success.

Did you know that event management consistently ranks within the top 10 most stressful jobs each year – alongside the likes of enlisted military personnel, firefighters, pilots and police offers?

For event managers, there’s no shortage of things to do: finding a venue, hiring staff, getting equipment, organizing travel, liaising with speakers, enlisting caterers – the list goes on.

And to make matters more complicated, each year brings with it new challenges and new trends. 

Many trade show and conference producers have found themselves in unchartered territory as they’ve made the in-person to online event pivot over the past several months. These professionals have been reading about best practices, researching new vendors, consulting with industry peers and otherwise learning as they go. Meanwhile, there’s another group of industry professionals—a subset of Freeman called Freeman Digital Ventures—that has been producing digital events since 2015.

Do you know how large of a role the live events industry plays in our nation’s economy? If you’re in the events industry, you likely do — but not all Americans are aware. As Congress prepares to deliver new business relief legislation in the upcoming weeks, it’s important to note how big that impact is, as well as the critical characteristics for that legislation to be most effective — for all small businesses and especially those in the events business. 

Right now, it’s a challenge for many to simply visit the grocery store. What will it be like once things start reopening on a large scale? Will people immediately resume their pre-coronavirus behavior, or will they be wary about being in places with large groups of people? For the events industry, this is a crucial question to unpack, as it determines how they will approach business going forward. What steps will they need to take to ensure that people will continue to attend conferences, expos, panels, and the like?

In the early days of March, the world began retreating to their houses and home offices in response to the growing threat of the coronavirus, changing — and testing — business as we knew it. Corporate event planners had to make the difficult decision to postpone, cancel or transition their in-person events into digital experiences. It wasn’t possible to gather, yet the guessing game of when we might resume life as we knew it was too difficult to understand.

As we’ve watched events be forced to postpone, change location and/or go virtual, it got us at Fixation Marketing thinking: Do these changes affect an event’s brand?

Not if the brand story is strong.

In the past four months, events have radically shifted from in-person gatherings to virtual events. Speakers play an integral role and can make or break the attendee experience. Understanding the importance presenters play into this dynamic, here are some tips for helping you to create a positive virtual experience for your attendees. 

1. Test, Test, Test

To ensure everything runs smoothly, schedule a rehearsal with your speakers.  Here is a short checklist of items to practice:

The sudden onset of remote work has impacted companies and organizations across the United States and around the world.

At a trade show, we used to say you have three seconds to capture the attention of someone walking by your booth. But in a virtual event, engagement isn’t just earned once. You have to earn it again and again.

The past few months have reshaped the events industry, but now is the time to accept changes and retool. Virtual events might look a little different, but the goal is the same: to tell your unique story.